Thanks for signing up! You might also like these other newsletters:

As she was about to embark on her second year of graduate school, Hillary Gozigian of Syracuse, N.Y., just wasn’t feeling right. She'd lost her appetite, she felt bloated, and she noticed an abnormal swelling on one side of her body. She went to see her gynecologist on a Wednesday, and by Monday she was in the operating room.

Doctors found a mass on one ovary the size of an orange, as well as tumors on her uterus and on the other ovary. She would undergo a full hysterectomy (removal of the uterus), along with both ovaries.

The diagnosis came out of nowhere. She had no family history of cancer, and it’s extremely rare to be diagnosed with dual primary cancers in your twenties. The average age for a diagnosis of ovarian cancer is 63, and for endometrial cancer (cancer of the uterus), 61.

Following her surgery, Gozigian had six months of intense chemotherapy and says she could not have gotten through it without her family.

“I think that, just as much as it was a journey for me, it was a journey for them,” she says.

Gozigian is now in remission and sees her doctor every three months for check-ups. She will never be able to have children, but she's able to see the bright side of what she’s endured.

“I do get emotional at times, but when I think about it, I am fortunate to be here. So that’s the way I thought about it at the time, and I still do,” she says.

She’s completed her master’s degree and now works for the American Cancer Society. After her diagnosis, she knew she wanted to give back to the cancer community.

When she looks back at her experience, she says, this is the most important advice she can pass along: “Be aware of your health. Listen to your body. Don’t be afraid to go to the doctor.”